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The Original Original Mountain Marathon Take one novice. Add one enthusiastic hill walker and part-time runner. Enter both in Britain’s toughest mountain marathon. Scrape off mud to reveal what first OMM was like, and whether the gear I picked last month worked. Read first article here. Click to hear Simon talk about the OMM in the TGO-Show podcast A reputation rarely forms without a reason. Among mountain marathoners, Galloway is considered tough. Until you’ve slid down a waterfall of mud, ricocheting between pine trees on one side and a dry-stone wall on the other, you cannot fully appreciate the euphemistic subtlety of the course organisers, when they describe this area as having “rough ground”. It is considered a beast of a location and not only because of its connection with the number ‘666’. The KIMM was held there in 1976, 1986 and 1996, and even though the event has now changed its name to the ‘Original Mountain Marathon’, the 2006 competition simply had to return. Obviously, I did not tell my brother-in-law any of this before I asked him to be my running partner, just in case he said no. After all, Jerzy had done absolutely nothing like this before and when he last went camping Harold Wilson was Prime Minister. This qualified him perfectly for the role of TGO’s crash test dummy, someone who could give a complete novice’s perspective on a mountain marathon to TGO readers who might consider having a go next year. If Jerzy survived one of the toughest in the UK, you might too. Simon Willis & Jerzy Krol before start “I was amazed how quickly I got used to being soaked to the skin”, was Jerzy’s considered assessment. After running two kilometres on forest track, we struck off up hill and immediately plunged knee-deep into our first bog. There many more ahead. “When I go out for a walk”, he later told me, “I aim to stay completely dry. But within half an hour my shoes and socks were drenched, my legs were soaked, and there was sweat inside my jacket.” I asked whether he was warm? “That was the biggest surprise. I was fine! Mind you, I was concentrating so hard on not twisting my ankle I don’t think I’d have noticed being cold.” Ugh! Jerzy and I had entered the easiest of the OMM ‘linear’ courses, which meant we navigated between check-points, called ‘controls’, in a fixed order as fast as possible. Rain and low cloud made navigation difficult on day one, but that suited me, and we reached the overnight camp in around five hours putting us in the top one-third of our class. However, a steep descent near the start of the second day aggravated an old skiing injury in Jerzy’s knee, so we and to walk the rest of the course. With thigh deep bogs to wade and scree slopes to stagger down, this was no casual stroll but inevitably we were overtaken. What’s more, obvious paths had been blazed between the controls by runners on day-one, so this removed any advantage we may might gained from navigation skills. We came in 130 out of 272, half way down the field, which for novice and a relative newbie to such events, we decided was rather good. I’m convinced the gear we used played a huge part in getting us around this particularly tricky course. Last month, I detailed the kit we’d use. Now I’ll critique how well it did or didn’t work for us. The Big Five 1. Rucksack Jerzy: KIMMlite 32L 2005 version (550g) Simon: OMM 32L 2007 version (618g) Rucksacks don’t come more specialised than these so it’s surprising how much and how frequently the design can be improved. The 2007 pack has gained a few grams but the fairly useless tight mesh side panel has gone, as has the compression cord around the bulk of the pack. Instead, a fold-down flap has been added to the rear, creating a useful mesh pouch to carry a second DuoMat sleeping pad or, when solo backpacking, a wet tent. The top pocket is larger too, big enough to carry a set of waterproofs where they can be reached quickly. 4/5 stars 2. Tent Shared: Coleman Rigel X2 (920g) New for 2007 and costing £90, this single skin replacement for the Coleman Raid could become a popular mountain marathon tent once home- modifications are made. The pegs are too short so I replaced them. I deployed a nappy pin, cord, spare peg and a stick to prop-up the side entry flap, creating a porch. We left it open all night to reduce condensation but despite this, and the new ceiling vent, we both had damp sleeping bags by morning. You can’t sit up in the Rigel, and if you’re the first one in, you feel slightly trapped against the far wall. I also wonder if this design would survive high winds. I would not choose the Rigel for multi-day backpacking in damp UK conditions, but it could be the ideal shelter in a warmer climate or for budget conscious mountain marathoners prepared to rough-it to save weight. 4/5 stars Coleman Rigel at overnight camp 3. Sleeping Bags Jerzy: PHD Minimus (531g) Simon: GoLite Feather 40 deg (561g) I nearly messed up here. On a recent backpacking trip the temperature fell close to zero and I spent a cold night in the 220gms of down of the PHD Minimus wearing all my clothes. I made a mental note to carry a warmer bag on the OMM. As I recommended last month, I took several options to Galloway so I could make a last minute decision, and when the weather forecast showed we’d have an unseasonably warm night we reverted to the lighter bags. Jerzy also carried a GoLite Cirrus down vest in case he was cold, but used it as a pillow. 5/5 stars 4. Sleeping Pads Both: RidgeRest cut-down (150g) Here I made a mistake. Jerzy is not used to camping, so I flet he’d want the added comfort of a cut-down RidgeRest. I planned to use a thinner lighter pad, but when I saw the thicker RidgeRest I wimped-out. ‘It’s only 70g more’, I convinced myself. I didn’t need it and could have stuck to my plan. New for 2007, OMM is making the DuoMat, a thin sleeping pad which slides into an internal sleeve to form the back panel of the rucksack. Two can be fastened together to make a full length mat (the “Duo” bit). However, it’s the same weight as my cut-down RidgeRest. 3/5 stars 5. Food & cooking gear Shared: Markill peak Ignition Titanium stove, SnowPeak Titanium Mug, DryTech Expedition Meals. I’ve used this system for several years and know it works well for me in most conditions. I supplement the dehydrated meals with nuts, malt loaf, custard and GoBars. 5/5 stars Control on C Course day 2 OMM rules specify the minimum clothing which must be carried, but people still agonise for ages over what to take. A frequently debated point is whether to carry spare leg cover and base layer for in camp, but there’s no simple answer. If you’re fit and skilled enough to run most of the course, your legs may stay warm enough to wear shorts both days, so the only leg cover you need is in camp. If you’re slow like us, you’ll need one set of long leg cover on the hill and perhaps a second, dry pair for in camp. Or perhaps you decide not to wear waterproofs while running and use these as camp leg-wear instead of tights. The permutations seem daunting, but the list I outlined last month worked for us and you can still find it at SimonWillis.co.uk. I’ve picked out a few star items. Shoes Simon: Inov-8 Mudclaw 270 The name is misleading, because mud is not the only surface on which these shoes excel. No other footwear has ever given me as much grip when climbing or descending steep slopes and wet grass. They feel like I’m wearing rubber crampons. I’d previously assumed these aggressive looking shoes were only for the experts, but now I love them. Base Layer Both: Berghaus X-static (183g) I’ve run in this since summer 2005. The small, stand-up collar prevents rucksack shoulder straps from rubbing the sides of my neck and there’s good ventilation from the long zip. After running much of day-one in torrential rain, wearing a waterproof jacket, the x-static top was soaked, yet after an two hours hanging from a tree branch, it had dried enough to be pulled on-top of my other clothes so my body heat could finish the drying process. Jerzy didn’t dry his top in this way, so on day-two he wore his lighter, spare base layer. Waterproof jacket Simon: OMM Kamleka smock (300g) It was designed for this event and it shows. The soft fabric feels more like a wind-proof and the long zip gives good ventilation, so it’s particularly comfortable to run in. After a day running in heavy rain, I expected sweat build-up inside, but it dried quickly. The arms are slightly long with thumb loops, so the sleeves become half-mitts which mean I only need gloves when it’s very cold and I can also use the jacket on my bike. Jerzy: GoLite Phantom jacket (392g) This feels and behaves more like a traditional sturdy waterproof but without the weight. Arm-pit zips and front pocket vents provide even more ventilation than the OMM smock, but the stiffness means it’s less comfortable as a running jacket and it’s slightly heavier. Altimeter TechTrail Summit watch/altimeter This was our secret weapon. The rain and low cloud severely restricted visibility and left many competitors confused, whereas we hit every control spot on. It almost felt like cheating. Altimeters are banned from most orienteering events but allowed in mountain marathons and while OMM maps don't give contour numbers an altimeter can still give a vital third dimensional reference. Still smiling at the finish Conclusion Despite all I’ve written on the subject, equipment is only part of any OMM story. A quick glance around the overnight camp shows no two teams use precisely the same gear. I’m constantly amazed at the tiny packs carried by the elite competitors, and the speed at which other competitors manage to travel with large rucksacks, big tents and even boots. A survey conducted at this year’s event revealed 50% of B and C course competitors used synthetic sleeping bags, whereas I prefer down. 50% carried water while the rest just took a mug to drink from streams as they passed. What matters is being happy with your choice, satisfied that you’re carrying exactly what you want, neither lugging around useless pounds nor dreading a shivering cold night with too little comfort. Our choices worked for us but by next year they’ll probably change again. They may not work for you, but at least it’s a place to start. History - From KIMM to OMM in 38 years The inspiration for Mountain Marathons came from an outdoor instructor called Gerry Charnley, who saw them as a mix of orienteering, fell running and mountaineering. The Scandinavian sport of orienteering had come to Scotland in 1962. The following year, Gerry organised the first English open event, but at this stage they were relatively short courses. He’d read of a back-woodsman’s event, held in Sweden before world war two, which started him thinking – why not combine the navigation techniques of orienteering with the physical challenge of the Lake District sport of fell-running, and throw in the camping, self-reliance discipline from mountaineering? In September 1968 thirty competitors arrived at Muker in Swaledale for the first mountain marathon. Each year the sport grew. Competitors came from overseas in 1973, a Swiss version of the event began three years later, and the people who were to become essential to the event were already competing; Chris Brasher, the co-founder of the London Marathon; Jen Longbottom, today’s organiser; and Mike Parsons the owner of Karrimor. “I’d been originally asked to provide the prizes”, explained Mike, but he ended up sponsoring the event. The Karrimor International Mountain Marathon, the KIMM, was born. It was a tough kid. The idea was, and for elite competitors remains, two marathons run on consecutive days, over mountainous terrain, carrying all the camping gear and food required. Specialist equipment was being designed for the event as early as 1973. Mike Parsons and Ken Ledward developed a total ultra-light system of tent (900g) sleeping bags (450g), packs, jackets pants and stove which brought their weight to just 2400g for ken, 2600g for Mike. These would be impressive weights nowadays. The 1976 event in Galloway was exceptionally arduous, made all the harder by out of date maps, but the following year saw a record increase in entries. In 2006 the event changed its name from the KIMM to the OMM, the Original Mountain Marathon, and now has seven different courses to offer challenging competition to three thousand entrants.